Frowning, the thug who had been searching him stood up: "Manager Fang, this kid has nothing on him."
"Oh?" The middle-aged man responded casually, picked up the red pine cigar box from the counter, opened the lid, took out a brown Havana cigar, and put it in his mouth with a flourish. With a soft "ding," the long-haired youth lit the cigar for the middle-aged man.
"Who are you?" the middle-aged man asked casually after exhaling a thick smoke ring.
"Didn't the waiter tell you? I have goods on hand and want to sell them," Ling Yun said calmly.
"Where is the goods?" The middle-aged man looked at Ling Yun strangely, then put the spicy cigar into his mouth again.
"Of course I didn't bring it with me. I'm not stupid. What if you try to kill me and steal my goods?" Ling Yun smiled slightly. He took a step forward, but the thug behind him immediately followed, the gun still pressed firmly against Ling Yun's head.
“Friend,” the middle-aged manager, Fang, shook his head gently. “I’m a complete stranger to you, and I’ve never seen you before. This line of work is one where you risk your life to make money, so we never deal with strangers unless we have an introduction from an acquaintance or connections within the industry. Otherwise, how would I know if you’re trying to scam us?”
As soon as he finished speaking, several thugs placed their hands on the gun handles at their waists, coldly looking at Ling Yun, as if they were ready to shoot him to death at the slightest provocation.
Ling Yun felt the gun behind his head press harder. His mind raced; he hadn't expected that selling heroin would require an introduction or insider connections. This was likely one of the key preventative measures in drug trafficking insider deals.
"Old Yao introduced me." In an instant, Ling Yun came up with an excuse. In truth, besides Old Yao, he didn't know who else he knew in this circle, and he never even knew the names of the two fake campus police officers he had beaten to death. If Supervisor Fang insisted that he contact Old Yao to verify the falsehoods, Ling Yun might have no choice but to resort to force.
"Old Demon?" Manager Fang looked somewhat surprised. He exchanged a glance with the equally astonished long-haired youth, then looked at Ling Yun and said, "Are you sure it was Old Demon who recommended him?"
"Yes." Ling Yun nodded. He sensed something was off about Manager Fang and the long-haired youth. He could clearly detect that their heartbeats had increased by a tenth in a short period of time—a normal physiological response to surprise. Perhaps the two knew something, but Ling Yun didn't care. All he wanted was the whereabouts of the Old Demon, and judging from Manager Fang's tone, he knew of the Old Demon's existence. That was enough.
"What did Lao Yao tell you?" Manager Fang's expression returned to normal, and he took another deep drag on his cigar.
"Actually, I'm not that familiar with Lao Yao. I found him through connections, and then he directed me to sell goods here," Ling Yun fabricated.
"Very good." Manager Fang smiled, his smile seemingly concealing something. "Since you were introduced by Old Yao, we're relieved. But young man, we can't trade here. How much stock do you want to sell?"
"A few dozen kilograms, I suppose," Ling Yun said after a moment's thought. He remembered watching movies where even a tiny amount of drugs seemed incredibly expensive; a few kilograms was already a lot, and tens of kilograms was an outrageous wholesale quantity, which would likely pique the other party's interest. In fact, Ling Yun desperately wanted to rush forward and interrogate Manager Fang to find out the whereabouts of that so-called "old demon," since giving falsehoods would be pointless. However, after his training in the barrier, Ling Yun's personality had become much more reserved. Holding back for now meant he might obtain more information, so there was no need to rush.
Dozens of kilograms? The faces of Manager Fang and his men, including several thugs, were filled with utter astonishment. Appearances can be deceiving; this seemingly poor and ordinary young man actually possessed so much drug—it was simply unbelievable. Even seasoned drug lords in the underworld might not be able to produce dozens of kilograms of drugs at once. Who was this young man, to have such a large quantity?
Just who was this kid? Manager Fang wondered to himself, his initial plan suddenly wavering. He wasn't sure about this ordinary young man, and uncertainty meant uncertainty and danger. Manager Fang had to be more cautious. Little did he know that Ling Yun was just spouting nonsense; the claim of dozens of kilograms of drugs was completely fabricated. But ordinary people would never dare to talk such nonsense to his face; otherwise, if the truth were revealed, it would be tantamount to ending their own lives.
"No matter what, this is the best course of action." Manager Fang made up his mind in an instant, and a knowing smile immediately appeared on his face: "Young man, I didn't expect you to have so much stock. However, this is such a large deal that I can't make the decision myself. Only my boss can talk to you personally. I'll have to trouble you and this brother Yang Feng to go see our boss together." He pointed to the long-haired young man as he spoke.
"Alright." Since Ling Yun had already gone this far in acting, he might as well continue pretending. Meeting the bar's behind-the-scenes owner might be beneficial, and perhaps he could learn more about the old demon. Ling Yun had always found this old demon very mysterious.
Chapter Fierce Battle
The long-haired youth, Yang Feng, slowly played with the wolf-hair flashlight in his hand: "Kid, our boss isn't someone anyone can just see whenever they want. Neither I nor I saw those supervisors you mentioned earlier, and you didn't bring anything with you. Just based on your words? You should at least produce something to prove you're qualified."
With a loud slap, Ling Yun suddenly turned around and struck the thug who was pointing a gun at him hard across the face. The slap was extremely heavy, and the thug, caught off guard, didn't even groan. As blood and several broken teeth spurted from his mouth, his massive body, weighing nearly 200 pounds, crashed to the ground and passed out.
Before the other thug could react, a hand as strong as an iron clamp gripped his chest. Suddenly, the thug's feet lost their footing, and the thin boy lifted him up with one hand. The thug tried to struggle, but the boy released a burst of strength, and the invisible force made the thug feel as if his whole body was filled with vinegar, sore and unable to move.
Ling Yun, seemingly unfazed, held up a burly man taller than himself. Facing six thugs who had drawn their pistols and were nervously aiming at him, he calmly said to Yang Feng, "Is this enough?"
A hint of anger flashed in Yang Feng's delicate eyes, but he quickly calmed down: "Enough, young brother, you have extraordinary courage, I admire you very much."
Ling Yun smiled faintly and casually tossed the burly man to the ground as if he were a rag. The thug struggled to stand up, but his body felt heavy and unresponsive, and no matter how hard he tried, he could only move his limbs a tiny distance.
Yang Feng walked up to Ling Yun, took out a piece of black cloth from his suit jacket, and handed it to Ling Yun, saying, "I'm sorry, this is the rule, you'll have to wear it."
Ling Yun took the black cloth and covered his eyes, turning his face towards Yang Feng: "Is this okay?" Inside the black cloth, a silver glint suddenly flashed in his eyes, almost imperceptibly.
"Let's go." Yang Feng glanced at Ling Yun, then gave Manager Fang a knowing look, and Manager Fang nodded. So Yang Feng led the way, Ling Yun was in the middle, and the six thugs followed behind Ling Yun as they filed out of the room.
A minute later, Manager Fang finally stubbed out his burnt-out cigar in the transparent ashtray, then picked up the cordless phone on the table, dialed a few buttons, and briefly recounted Ling Yun's situation, emphasizing the word "Old Demon" in particular.
The person on the other end of the phone said something, and then hung up.
Manager Fang put down the phone, a satisfied smile appearing on his shrewd face. But when he looked at the two thugs still lying on the ground, his brows furrowed, and he picked up the phone again, about to call someone in to carry the two thugs away.
Suddenly, his face turned pale, and he desperately choked himself with both hands. A few seconds later, his face turned a terrifying bluish-purple. He opened his mouth wide as if he were suffocating, trying to breathe in air in vain. His other arm waved frantically on the smooth countertop, as if trying to grab something, his fingers curling slightly in an unnatural way.
With a crash, the items on the boss's desk fell to the floor. Manager Fang's arms gradually became weak and powerless. With a thud, his head hit the table hard, and his dilated eyes shot out a blank yet unwilling look.
A faint, transparent hand slowly retracted from the snow-white ceiling.
Ling Yun followed behind Yang Feng. The black cloth had no effect on him; even without using his senses, Ling Yun's eyesight allowed him to see through any obstacle. After leaving the room, Yang Feng led him without hesitation to an emergency exit. This exit was completely different from where Ling Yun had come in; it led to a huge underground parking lot.
The two burly men guarding the emergency exit bowed respectfully upon seeing Yang Feng. Yang Feng ignored them, and the group walked away. Ling Yun thought to himself, "It seems Yang Feng holds a high position here; he must be some kind of leader."
A moment later, two black Audi V6s sped away from the underground parking lot.
After driving for more than an hour on the highway, the car arrived at an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the city. This place used to be a large or medium-sized industrial base, but it was probably relocated due to environmental pollution. All that remained were rows of dilapidated factory buildings and various reinforced concrete foundations. Because no one had cleaned or managed it for many years, the factory had become a veritable garbage dump, and the smell of decay was everywhere.
The Audi slowly stopped in front of a fairly tidy factory building. Due to the lack of lights, the huge and ferocious outline of the old, dark factory building could only be vaguely seen in the pitch-black night, like a crouching monster.
Two thugs got out of the car first, then opened the doors for Yang Feng and Ling Yun respectively. Four thugs, who were in the other Audi, also got out.
Yang Feng stared in astonishment at Ling Yun as he stepped out of the car. Regardless of their background, anyone suddenly losing their sight would instinctively feel fear and terror, a fear that would be powerfully expressed through speech and actions. However, this young man, from the moment he got into the car until he got out—a journey of over an hour—simply sat quietly, without uttering a single word or making any uneasy movement, appearing like a statue. Several times, the thugs driving deliberately accelerated the car to its maximum speed, as the immense oncoming force would exacerbate the panic of the blindfolded person. But soon, Yang Feng and the thugs were disappointed, because Ling Yun remained like an unresponsive piece of wood, his face outside his eyes completely expressionless, not even shifting his posture.
Yang Feng suddenly felt uneasy, for the first time thinking that bringing Ling Yun here might have been a mistake. But soon, his fierce and violent nature suppressed the sudden unease. No matter what, murder and robbery were the best options. He had men and guns, so what was there to be afraid of?
Several bright beams of light shone unabashedly on Ling Yun and his companions. Several men in black appeared at the dark, dilapidated factory entrance, carrying flashlights with wolf-hair bristles similar to Yang Feng's. In the blinding light, it was impossible to discern the men's faces.
"Tell the boss I've brought the person." Yang Feng shielded his eyes as he walked towards the factory gate, simultaneously shining his wolf-hair flashlight back and forth. The extremely bright and concentrated beam of light drew complex and strange signals in the darkness, seemingly carrying an unknown meaning. These small wolf-hair flashlights could only be bought on the black market, costing at least one hundred US dollars each. A single charge provided eighty hours of continuous use, and if an ordinary person were to be directly exposed to the beam of light at a short distance, it would cause temporary blindness.
Yang Feng was greeted by the distinctive sound of a gunshot with a silencer. After two sharp thuds, Yang Feng abruptly stopped in his tracks. A bright red flower of blood bloomed from his heart, slowly expanding. A bloody hole about 0.5 centimeters in diameter appeared on his handsome face, which was filled with astonishment.
One bullet pierced his brain, another shattered his heart; Yang Feng collapsed, filled with endless confusion and resentment.
The six black-clad thugs brought by Yang Feng were stunned. Although they were all well-trained and carried guns, the sudden shooting still caused them to feel a moment of unreality and physical sluggishness.
Chapter 51 The Mysterious Gunman